In the hills of the Sannio, east of Naples, the Pascale family turned a long love of vines into a working winery only in 2002, after generations of farming for themselves.
Backstory
Aia dei Colombi was founded in 2002 by the Pascale family, who carried what they describe as an ancient passion for vineyards and wine. Maria and Marcello Pascale started the estate, and their sons, including Gaetano, now drive its day-to-day work. The cellar lies in Contrada Sapenzie, in Guardia Sanframondi in the province of Benevento. The guiding idea has been to combine typicality and quality, drawing out the character of a territory the family considers extraordinarily suited to vines.
The Region
The Sannio, around Benevento, is one of Campania's most important inland wine zones, a landscape of rolling clay and limestone hills. Falanghina is its calling card: Campania accounts for the vast majority of Italy's plantings, and the Sannio DOC is where most of it grows. The grape is ancient, thought to trace to Greek settlers who reached southern Italy in the centuries before Christ. Guardia Sanframondi is recognized as one of the finest pockets for it.
Vineyards & Farming
The estate spreads across about 10 hectares between Guardia Sanframondi and Castelvenere, with roughly 8 hectares under vine. Plantings include Falanghina, Fiano, and Aglianico, along with the local and increasingly rare Barbera del Sannio, trained to Guyot. Farming follows careful traditional practices suited to the micro-climate, with little or no need for chemical treatment, carried out in full respect of the surrounding environment, which the family sees as the true author of the wines.
Winemaking
Only estate-grown grapes enter the cellar, letting the family control every step from vine to bottle. Falanghina is hand-harvested in the second half of September, pressed quickly to protect its perfume, and fermented at cool temperatures to lock in its citrus and floral aromatics. It then rests on its fine lees in stainless steel for five to six months, building texture without masking freshness.
The Wines
The Falanghina del Sannio Guardia Sanframondi is the signature white, crisp, citrus-driven, and lifted by delicate floral and herbal notes. The range extends to Fiano, a Sannio Barbera from 100% Barbera del Sannio, and Aglianico, plus the Vignasuprema selection, each drawn from a single estate vineyard to give it a distinct identity.
